The contract for deed as a mortgage: The case for the restatement approach

Grant S. Nelson*

I. INTRODUCTION

My interest in the contract for deed goes back to early childhood in Minnesota. I can remember as a child of six or seven listening to my parents bemoan the fact that they were purchasing their first home on such a contract. They envied their neighbors, most of whom were "lucky" enough to be financing their house purchases with mortgages. My parents were unable to come up with a large enough down payment for a conventional mortgage. Nor did my father qualify for a "no-down-payment" loan guaranteed by the Veterans Administration. Instead, the seller agreed to take back a contract for deed. Why were they so apprehensive about doing this? Why …